Minnesota Timberwolves: NBA Draft

The 2012 NBA Draft is two weeks away and the Timberwolves hold the 18th pick.  We at Shoot That S attempted to list the Wolves top draft successes.  But we realized if we did that, we would set the record for the shortest blog article ever.  So instead we will list the top Wolves Draft failures.  So as we dream of selecting Austin Rivers, Tony Wroten, Terrance Ross, or Evan Fournier to become the Wolves answer at shooting guard, the more likely outcome will look like this....


(in no particular order)


1. 2007 – Corey Brewer – 7^th pick, 2009 – Johnny Flynn -6^th Pick, 2010 – Wesley Johnson – 4^th Pick: All 3 have not live up to expectations of their respective draft selection.  The truth is that they possess talent of lower 1st round picks, not lottery picks.  But they all have great smiles.


2. 1994 - Donyell Marshall – 4^th Pick:  He was traded 40 games into the season.  But it wasn’t  a total loss, the Wolves received Tom Gugliotta in the trade.  Gulgiotta was the Wolves first All-Star and was a key player in the Wolves first playoff run.

Notable Players picked after Marshall: 5^th -  Juwan Howard, 10^th – Eddie Jones, 13^th – Jalen Rose

3. 2005 – Rashad McCants – 14^th Pick: Bad player with a bad attitude.  Struggled with injuries.

Notable Players picked after McCants: 17^th – Danny Granger, 19^th Hakim Warrick, 22^nd – Jarret Jack, 30^th – David Lee

4. 2006 – Randy Foye – 6^th pick – Foye was technically the 7^th pick, but the Wolves traded Future All-Star Brandon Roy for Foye.  This went down as one of the worst trades in Wolves history.  Even though Roy is no longer in the league due to injuries, he has accomplished more than Foye in that short time period.

Notable Players picked after Foye: 8^th – Rudy Gay, 21 – Rajon Rondo

5. 1997 – Paul Grant – 20^th Pick: Missed entire rookie year with a injury and traded mid-way through his second season.

Notable Players picked after Grant: 23^rd – Bobbie Jackson

6. 1999 – William Avery – 14^th Pick: In 3 seasons with the Wolves, he averaged 2.7 points and 1.4 assist per game.  Spent the rest of his career overseas.

Notable Players picked after Avery: 16^th – Ron Artest, 18^th – James Posey, 24^th – Andrei Kirilenko, 2^nd round – Manu Ginobili

7. 2003 – Ndubi Ebi – 26^th Pick:  Never developed into a NBA player and was released after 3 seasons.

Notable Players picked after Ebi: 27^th – Kendrick Perkins, 28^{th -}  Leandro Barbosa, 29^th – Josh Howard

8. 2001, 2002, 2004  – No Draft Picks. – The NBA stripped the wolves of 5 Draft Picks for signing Joe Smith to a illegal contract.  This crippled the Wolves and they struggled to surround Kevin Garnett with adequate talent for years.  In 2003, the NBA reduced the penalty to 3 picks. 

The men responsible for this mess.